NII Profit Up 85 Percent; FBR Capital Markets Posts Loss

From staff and wire reports

*NII Holdings said profit grew 85 percent in the second quarter, to $155.2 million (88 cents a share) from $84.1 million (47 cents) in the comparable period a year earlier, beating Wall Street expectations, because of subscription growth. The Reston-based wireless service provider to Latin American businesses said revenue rose 40 percent, to $1.1 billion. Revenue from digital handsets and accessories more than doubled during the period to $61 million.

NII ended the quarter with more than 5.4 million subscribers, a 34 percent increase. During the quarter, NII had 394,500 net additions, the largest ever in a quarter. Average monthly service revenue per subscriber grew $1 to $59. But cancellation rates, known as churn, grew slightly to 1.89 percent, compared with 1.84 percent in the previous quarter.

"As market conditions evolve, we fully expect to participate in substantial capital-raising opportunities such as recapitalizations of financial institutions," chief executive Eric F. Billings said in a statement. "While the future will undoubtedly be unpredictable, we will be taking steps to reduce our costs on an ongoing basis which should position us for enhanced profitability both in the short term as well as when the markets begin to normalize."